City On Our Knees, by Toby Mac

I have to say, "WOW!" I love this book, City On Our Knees, by Toby Mac.  Kids picked it up while it sat on my public high school desk, and marveled at its cover.  It is a pretty slick, hardbound book.  One kid even mentioned he loved that Toby Mac song.  It's awesome to see who the Christian kids are (and seeing them live out that Christian life.)

"If we gotta start somewhere why not here," on the front cover, says it all.  We are in this world - let's do something to make it better.  This book is a collection of short true stories of people - very young to old, from the past and current, who have or who are making a difference in our world.

As I read it, I wrote down page numbers of things I wanted to go back to write on. Page 129, I said, was my favorite.  I just now looked it up and it was the story of Charles Spurgeon and the orphanage he started.  One day he had no idea where the children's breakfast was coming from.  The kids all sat and they prayed at their empty plates.  Then someone at the door knocked....  I'll let you read that awesome story.  I'd heard it before but it still reminds me of the power of prayer.

"Prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Spirit can teach us. Pray for prayer. Pray until you can really pray."  -- Charles Spurgeon

Another favorite, probably my most favorite of all, is about a woman during the Dwight L. Moody days.  She was sick and unable to go to church.  She prayed while homebound and her prayers blessed Pastor Moody in ways he didn't understand until he met her.  One thing this woman did was have a birthday book.  I think it was like a yearly calendar.  She had people's birthdays written in there that she wanted to pray for.  She said this, "Now, will you write your name on your birthday page, and let me pray for you until either you or I go home."  Wow!  That is a ministry.  This woman's name was Marianne Adlard.  What a powerful woman she was because she loved God and believed in the power of prayer!

These are all stories from the past but the ones in the present are awesome, too. I highly recommend this book.  It really is a quick read and it's set up much like a blog, very trendy.  It's great for all ages, tweens, teens, to us 'old people.'

The author has his own prayers scattered throughout, along with verses from the Bible that fit each story. I will end this review with his:

Prayer of Hope.

Dear loving God,

Help us to remember, when we begin to lose hope,

that all the darkness in the world

is just a speck in Your light,

a light that fills the universe.

when pain and confusion invade our lives,

Let us not rely on our own resources.

Instead, lead us to seek answers on our knees.

Lord, show us Your way,

Lord,lead us to Your destination.

We thank You for being our beacon of hope,

A beacon we can always see, if we will only look.

Amen.